Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a clamp for hoses or flexible tubing. More particularly, this invention relates to tubing clamps commonly used in the medical industry.
Description of the Background Art
Presently, there exist many types of clamps for clamping onto a tubing or other flexible member to at least partially obstruct fluid flow through the tubing or to completely close-off fluid flow through the tubing. One particular industry that requires the use of tubing clamps is the medical industry wherein clamps are used widely as tubing clamps in intravenous administration sets, catheterization kits, and many other medical assemblies.
One of the most common types of tubing clamp in the medical industry comprises a clam-shell design having upper and lower arms joined together by a living hinge. The medical tubing is positioned between the upper and lower arms which are allowed to clamp onto the tubing by means of the living hinge. Typically, the upper arm includes a pointed end that engages into teeth formed in the end of the lower arm to achieve a complementary ratchet mechanism such that the anvils of upper and lower body portions may be clamped onto the medical tubing to reduce fluid flow or to entirely close off all fluid flow. Further, the most widely used tubing clamp comprises a longitudinal hole formed through the living hinge and the ratcheting portions of the lower arm such that the tubing is threaded therethrough in alignment with mating clamping anvils to squeeze closed the tubing therebetween.
Importantly, surgical micro-tubing had led to the development of lateral opposing sidewalls that confine the micro tubing to rest between the unclamped anvils thereby precluding the micro tubing from otherwise creeping out between the anvils before they are clamped together.
The entirety of the tubing clamp is typically manufactured as a one-piece injection-molded assembly. Accordingly, conventional molding techniques are preferably employed with minimal slides. As shown in FIG. 1, known tubing clamps with opposing sidewalls require too many slides and other complex molding techniques.
Therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the tubing clamp art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a tubing clamp having non-opposing sidewalls that may be injection molded without slides.
Another object of this invention is to provide a tubing clamp having non-opposing sidewalls emanating from one clamp arm that engage into slots form in the other clamp arm to minimize twisting of the clamp arms relative to one another during squeezing of the clamp closed.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.